Lactalis Retains Top Position in Global Dairy Ranking

French dairy group Lactalis held the first position with 2025 turnover of €35.5bn, according to the ranking. Nestlé of Switzerland and Dairy Farmers of America of the United States occupied the next two places.

Arla Foods rose to fourth place, ahead of Danone and Yili Group. FrieslandCampina, Saputo, Mengniu and Fonterra completed the top ten. Across the 20 companies, combined turnover reached $267bn, or €229bn, during 2025.

Lucas Fuess, RaboResearch’s senior analyst for dairy in North America, identified consolidation as a continuing feature of the industry. The report referred to Arla Foods’ merger with DMK Group, FrieslandCampina’s merger with Milcobel and acquisitions by Lactalis as transactions that highlighted the role of scale and investment capacity.

The report also said dairy companies were targeting business areas in which they could establish leadership in particular markets. Fonterra is focusing on ingredients and foodservice, while Froneri and Magnum were cited as examples of category-specific business models.

RaboResearch said expansion was taking place in higher-value areas including nutrition, protein ingredients, speciality cheese and functional dairy products. These segments were listed alongside the broader changes in company portfolios and market positioning covered by the ranking.

The composition of the Top 20 changed after DMK merged and Unilever separated its ice-cream business. Emmi and Magnum entered the ranking, with Magnum placed at number 11. The report also mentioned Royal A-ware in the Netherlands as a company pursuing growth.

RaboResearch said a combination of scale, value-added innovation and differentiation would distinguish the companies it described as future leaders. The ranking therefore recorded both changes in company positions and the effect of mergers, spin-offs and acquisitions on the group of the 20 largest dairy businesses.